Whilst 2022 was the second Closest election of his career, Bill Pascrell Jr's closest election continues to be his premier congressional Election where he defeated incumbent 1994 Wave baby Congressman William J. Martini.
While both Were Passaic Candidates, the Then Mayor/State Assemblyman Pascrell's strength in his hometown of Paterson (Winning it by 63.18%, or 18,493 votes) was crucial in allowing him to win the County by 8.62% (9,587 votes).
Thanks to that strong showing in Passaic county, Pascrell was able to eclipse Martini's 4.16% (3,338 Vote) advantage in the Essex county.
Also Crucial in his victory were the Minority heavy Essex Towns of South Orange and Maplewood which combined offered a 24.40%/2,662 advantage to Pascrell as well as Passaic City which Gave the Paterson Mayor a 34.97% (3,829 vote) advantage.
The Remaining Passaic Towns voted for Martini by 11.5% (12,735 votes), whilst the remaining Essex towns voted for Martini by 7.5% (6,000) votes
Passaic County constituted 58.1% of the Votes, whilst Essex constituted 41.9% of the Votes in the Election.
When compared to the presidential Election, where Bill Clinton concurrently won the district by 23.42% Martini's incumbency advantage becomes clear as he over-performed by at least 20% throughout the District except in:
Paterson, Prospect Park, North Haledon, West Paterson, South Orange and Maplewood.